3 dishes for 3 places

By K. F. Seetoh of Makansutra

I suspect that many out there, just like me, have a good geographical sense about Singapore. You know your icons and landmarks in the north (the Mandai Zoo), south (the Esplanade), east (Peter's Nonya museum), west (the smelly food factories near Coronation Road) and Central (Ion shopping mall). But mine has an additional edge, I think in terms of makan landmarks, it's a bad habit or perhaps a job hazard of mine. North means Sunset Grill inside the old Seletar Airport for sliders (mini burgers) and ridiculously spicy wings, south conjures up an image of me nursing a glass of caprioshka at the Fullerton's Post Bar, west means that long snaking queue for nasi lemak at Boon Lay and east is of course about the black pepper crab at Joo Chiat with a boss who refused to be interviewed on my TV show but offered me a meal anyway. Central is that bowl of handmade ramen at Robertson Quay with roasted black sesame cream doused over the salted pork bone broth.

Of course, I conscientiously sub-divide places into sections and sub sections, like how the southern point of Jalan Besar means cold pork head jelly and Sungei Road laksa. This week, I have three more dishy locations I'd like to share and perhaps insert into your mental makan GPS map.

Call this the longest hawker center in Singapore if you must but it is clearly a landmark in the Circuit Road area. It also has one of the most convenient parking bays, just a shout from the stalls and right beside the road. This stall is one of those intense little vegetarian cze cha stall laden with all sorts ingredient and utensils. The photo menu overwhelms the frontage and their key signatures are placed at eye level. A couple of their dishes clearly stand out-- the vegetarian yam ring and the ngoh hiang slices. The yam ring, which was originally invented in Singapore as a vegetarian dish half a century ago, is done handsomely crispy yet fluffy and stuffed with greens and tofu "meats" inside and ringed in with a bed of fried puffed beehoon streaks. I like that the yam is mashed lightly and does not give that heavy steamed tuber sensation. Their ngoh hiang or "meat rolls" has bits of seaweed and vegetables rolled in with the dough mix inside. They slice then fry it so it comes firm, light and crispy all around.

Mention Parkway Parade and you can now flavour it with a very rare and rich Peranakan dessert. The culinary team at the Grand Mercure Hotel, directly opposite Parkway Parade, has been touting durian pengat for many years simply because "there is a huge Nonya community not just around here, but in the country that pops over for our Peranakan and spice inspired buffet", says Robert Tan, their F&B director. It is one of the most lemak pengats I've had, not in the coconut milk and gula melaka sense of the word, but just a lot of pulpy good grade durian flesh. It tastes more like a fresh durian puree, all free flow on the buffet line and Robert claims, "We use about 40 kilos of durian meat each day and up to twice the amount on weekends." It is so popular, they even offer it on their ala carte menu in their Jia Wei Chinese Restaurant.

This place is known for a collection of many noodle stalls offering bak chor mee, fish ball mee, Sarawak noodles, and stewed pork noodles. The hawker centre itself is a landmark, a circular market and food centre. But I remember this place for a couple of outstanding local desserts -- a lian chee suan (a lotus seed tau suan) and the gingko barley in soy milk. You have to go before 11am to get their lian chee suan -- so softly nutty and the thickened syrup is not too sweet and is perfumed with pandan leaves. The barley gingko with soft broken pieces of tofu skin is about the best I've had around and they are generous with the gingko nuts.

This post was first featured on Makansutra.

Photojournalist K F Seetoh is the founder of Makansutra, a company devoted to touting all the empirical wonders of Asian food culture. He inks a food guide, hosts his own Makansutra TV shows, manages food villages, creates online and mobile content, consults and operates award-winning food safaris. Yeah, in short, he eats, talks, documents and regales about food and sells coffee, sometimes while his mouth is full. CNN dubs him the 'Guru of the Grub' and The New York Times says he's 'the food guide maven'.

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